Dick Randall, Bruce Li, Jimmy Wang Yu and who?

Bruce Lee Superdragon(1975) was one of two factory-made VHS tapes which my brother and I inherited from our dad’s small movie collection—the other one being Summertime Killer (1973). Unlike its DVD incarnations (such as GoodTimes’ The Young Bruce Lee), the original U.S. home video release by Allied Artists in 1976 was distributor Dick Randall’s cut. Entire scenes of the production’s not-particularly-interesting drama were replaced with action-packed sequences taken from three other films, and passed off as if Bruce Lee had directed them.

The most commonly known and DVD-accessible is King of Boxers (1973), a.k.a. The Screaming Tiger (click the title to see a trailer), a.k.a. Ten Fingers of Steel, which features genre superstar Jimmy Wang Yu. But the reason I took such good care of this video, purchased a secondhand copy, and had it recorded it onto a DVD-R, was not simply for nostalgia. As truly terrific as the Jimmy Wang Yu sequence is, the other film has a particular combination of sounds, music, and images, which to this day has retained a unique quality of enchantment upon me. And yet, having checked with several, genre-related movie forums, I still don’t know its title.

Throughout the years, I’ve even had a few characters in two of my stories search for it. (I might as well amuse myself while questing.) As a minor subplot in I Am a Rock, a half-Cherokee Tennessean has his girlfriend and her cousin trying to track it down for him in Miami, where she’s visiting. Since revising the second act for sharing purposes has taken longer than I anticipated, and being that I have yet to locate the film for myself, I thought I’d try my inquiry anew starting here and on Youtube (check it out below).

Bruce Lee (directing; lowering his sunglasses): One more time, Billy. (to an assistant) Go tell that make-up girl I don’t want blood all over his face.

Here are some details. The film’s protagonist slays the last of the villain’s henchmen, adding to a pile of bodies lying about in a courtyard. The bad guy first hurls a door at him, before literally flying over to attack. While the hero has a sword, his antagonist is armed with some kind of exotic weapon: a steel rod with a heavy sphere at the end, which opens and divides itself into eight sharp-lobed blades. Despite this, both men appear equally tough and able, while the villain has the advantage of being fresh for battle. Neither exchanges a single word to the other, as the good guy’s female companion looks on. She’s waiting for someone to bring a special weapon.

Elsewhere, a young woman attempts to steal a unique, power-wielding sword from another gang’s lair. When the gang shows up, a fight naturally ensues. And it’s intercut with its predecessor, until her wounded male “cousin” (in the English dubbed version) climbs over a wall and gives her a hand.

In the meanwhile, the leading hero’s companion receives injuries by a sword thrown at her, followed by a severe blow to the body, as she tries to help him. He’s nearly worn out, and the bad guy is taking full advantage of it.

Fortunately for the good guys, the other woman arrives. When she announces that she’s brought “the sword” with her in its sheath, it alarms the villain. And he does everything he can to keep it from being put to use against him.

But when the sword is removed from its casing by the young woman, both it and the hero’s sword hurtle out of their grasps, as they are somehow magnetically drawn towards the villain. Skewered and doomed, he tries to go after her. So the hero picks up the bad guy’s fancy weapon and whacks him with it. Falling to the ground and groaning, the good guys stand by and watch him, as they wait for him to die.

The music is remarkable. The drums and brass section are paced and dropped accordingly with the tension. Also, the choreography throughout is stylistically appealing—it’s quite good for the period, and treated without humor. The editing uses slow-motion very briefly, but effectively.

The formula is pretty standard, but its execution and handling is distinct. While there are many other fine examples in its genre, it’s a pity that this film remains elusive and relatively unknown.

Any information on the title of this film and/or where I can obtain a copy, would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully, the rest of the picture lives up to its climax. Regardless, this nearly 7-minute sequence alone is worth recommending. My muse loves it too.